Guernsey County goes 'StormReady'

Friday

Nov 9, 2018 at 6:01 PMNov 9, 2018 at 6:41 PM

Guernsey County is now "StormReady" thanks to the efforts of a local student at The Ohio State University.

Guernsey County became the 31st county in the State of Ohio to become "StormReady" as Alexis Highman, a Senecaville resident and sophomore in the Atmospheric Science Program at The Ohio State University, took a step towards helping her home.

Highman contacted Guernsey County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Gerry Beckner to see if there were any projects that she could work on during the summer. StormReady was a project that Director Beckner had on the back burner and thought it would make a perfect fit.

Highman worked with many county agencies, as well as the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Pittsburgh office, to develop the Guernsey County StormReady Plan and complete the application. The planning process required more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts within the Guernsey County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and the county’s established 24-hour warning point, which is the newly expanded 911 Call Center. Both locations must have systems that monitor weather conditions locally as well as the capability of notifying the public, should the need arise.

Beckner provided a list of benefits of the StormReady program:

• StormReady improves the timeliness and effectiveness of hazardous weather warnings for the public.

• StormReady provides detailed and clear recommendations that will help local emergency managers establish and improve effective hazardous weather operations.

• StormReady can help justify costs and purchases needed to support hazardous mitigation and emergency response plans.

• StormReady provides a means to possibly acquire additional community rating system points assigned by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is a step toward getting flood insurance discounts.

• StormReady can help ensure a community that it is prepared for other civil emergencies. Public education also plays a key role in being StormReady and the EMA participates in many local activities to promote weather-related awareness and preparedness.

The EMA’s Citizen Corps program is designed to train the public to assist during weather-related emergencies. The county hosts the NWS’s Spotter Training, which is a key program for the Cambridge Amateur Radio Emergency Services that is also available to the general public. Regular emergency exercises are held to ensure the plan is kept up-to-date.

After completing her work on the project, Highman, along with Director Beckner, made a trip to NWS/Pittsburgh to deliver the information to Warning Coordination Meteorologist, Fred McMullen.

McMullen and his staff described the jobs performed at that the NWS to enable the distribution of weather-related information. The importance of the Weather Spotter program was also discussed.

On Sept. 26, representatives from the Ohio StormReady Committee visited Guernsey County and reviewed all of the points of the StormReady Application. This included visiting the EOC and the 911 Call Center along with interviewing the EMA Director and 911 dispatchers. After the visit, the application and StormReady plan were formally submitted to the Ohio StormReady Committee for approval.

On Oct. 6, Highman and Beckner were officially notified that Guernsey County had earned StormReady status. Their combined efforts were recognized during the Oct. 29 meeting of the Guernsey County Commissioners.

The student’s efforts were great appreciated by Beckner, who said, "The efforts of a volunteer such as Alexis are very important in meeting the goals of the EMA. There are always things to get done that local EMA staffs cannot do alone. By volunteering her time this summer to the StormReady project, Alexis completed a much needed project for the county and was able to tie it directly to her interests. She is an amazing young lady who is committed to her life’s career goal of giving to her community."

When asked how she felt after completing the project, Highman replied, "I am thankful that I had the opportunity to volunteer with Gerry Beckner and the EMA. I also appreciate the assistance from Fred McMullen at NWS Pittsburgh. Developing the StormReady Plan was challenging but also rewarding. This experience will be beneficial as I continue to pursue my degree in Atmospheric Science at The Ohio State University."

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